CC girls 2nd at New Prague Invite

New Prague’s Ashley Altschul, right, surges past a runner near the finish line at the New Prague Invitational. The Trojans finished second as a team. (Chuck Kajer Photo)

The New Prague Trojans hosted their first meet at Cedar Lake Farm Regional park, and the girls ran well at the Trojan Invitational, placing second of 11 teams.

The varsity team was at a disadvantage competing without one of their top runners, Ella Grote, who was unable to run due to illness. Instead of giving up, the girls rallied around each other and gave one of their best performances of the season.

Maria Berg competed against the number one-ranked runner in Class A, Emi Trost of Cannon Falls, for the second time this season. In Montgomery, Maria finished 1:16 behind Trost. This time, the margin was only 38 seconds as Berg placed second.

Three other Trojans placed in the top 25; Ashley Altschul, Abby Milinkovich, and Korey Wilson.

“The girls work hard in practice and bring a positive attitude each day,” said Coach Shawn Brandt. “I'm looking forward to seeing them continue to improve through the second half of the season.”

Brandt said one of the advantages of hosting the meet at Cedar Lake is the ability to practice on their home course. “The team has been able to run a few speed workouts on the course, become familiar with the challenging features, and learn where to accelerate. This comfort level was easy to see as the girls charged up and down the hills, around the turns and through the meadow.”

Brandt credited Dr. Mark Berg, Activities Director Brad Skogerboe, Scott County and the Three Rivers Park District, along with the parent volunteers, for making the meet a success.

New Prague will host the Missota Conference meet on the same course on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Team results saw Red Wing placing first with 42 points, while New Prague was second at 74. The rest of the field included Norwood Young America (113), Faribault (119), Cannon Falls (170), Farmington (172), St. Peter (184), Mankato Loyola (192), Jordan (194), Tri-City United (201) and Le Sueur-Henderson (236).

Red Wing edged New Prague for first place in the JV race by one point. New Prague had all five runners finishing in the top 11, with Elisa Johnson winning the race in 18:23, Mikayla Giles fourth in 19:00, Mary Russell fifth in 19:21, Katie Hummel eighth in 19:50, and Joselin Wacker 11th in 20:14.

“Johnson ran a smart race by running a step behind the lead pack for the first two miles. In the last half-mile, she took the lead and pulled away from the group, winning the race by seven seconds,” Brandt said.